Nordic Weaving (March 2008)

Our March program will feature a power point presentation on Nordic Weaving by lodge member Christine Spangler.

Christine is a resident of Silver Spring, Maryland. She received her B.A. from Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y., and an advanced certificate in Woven Textiles, from the State College for Art Teachers in Oslo, Norway, in the 1970’s.

Ms. Spangler has worked as a textile design professional since the late 1970’s until the present. Ms. Spangler has also spent many years on the faculties of area institutions such as Mount Vernon college, The George Washington University and The Corcoran School of Art. Some of her commissioned work can be seen in public venues in the D.C. area including:2000 “Potomac,” wall hanging for lobby, 1998 “Waves,” wall hanging for Betty Ourisman Center, Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University Hospital, 1999 “God, the Father” and 1998 “The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit” wall hangings for The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Christine Spangler on her weaving style:

“Color and texture started me on my woven journey almost 34 years ago. They continue to intrigue and to challenge my weaving today. From my introduction to weaving in Norway in the 1970’s, I have striven to use the structure of weaving as a means to a design end.

While my textile education was classical and strict, most of my work has tried to push the boundaries of a given technology. When I acquired a dobby loom, I used tied weave structures to break the design block or twill line most often seen in shaft weaving. For many years, I used hand dyed yarns and tied weave structures on the dobby loom to create textiles for worship. Now the TC-1 loom allows me unlimited pictorial possibilities.

My recent work echoes the folklore and craft, which I learned in Norway. The bones of the designs are drawn from museum artifacts, but they are overlaid with an appreciation of the magnificent color and landscape of that country.

Historical Norwegian textiles document a love of beauty and form among a group of people with few contacts with the Norwegian women managed to
create strikingly beautiful, yet useful, textiles for their families. My designs spring from an admiration of these creative women and a love of the expressive power of color and texture.”